Puvlo's Dog (Research Essay Sample)

Check Out Our Puvlo's Dog Essay

Classical condition refers to the process or technique of behavior modification whereby a particular stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was formerly evoked by another stimulus. Therefore, a learning process guided by the associations between naturally occurring stimulus and environmental stimulus.

Classical conditioning works by constantly pairing a meaningful stimulus with a neutral stimulus until the neutral stimulus gains the memory of the meaningful stimulus. In effect, the neutral stimulus is transformed into a conditioned stimulus, and the initial automatic response from the original meaningful stimulus is transformed into a neutral stimulus and becomes a conditioned response. For example, the meaningful example can be thunder while the automatic response to thunder can be the covering of one's ears. Learning occurs mainly through association. Whenever an individual does something, they get a response that can be predicted. Therefore, learning widely occurs through the ability to predict the results of simple situation (Pavlov, 1927).

Memory editing refers to the process of changing or altering the contents of one's memory. Memory editing is very appropriate because it enables individuals to forget their bad or traumatizing memories. For example, through memory editing an individual is able to forget the memory of fear or even remove a very nagging and irritating habit through the procedural manipulation of crucial functions in the brain (Larry, 2006). It is very ethical for scientists to conduct memory research because the research provides them with the relevant information about the organization and structure of the normal memory. Subsequently, they are able to answer various critical questions about the anatomy of memory and the functions of the brain systems.

Cognition refers to how people think and understand. Piaget developed four stages to his theory of cognitive development and they include Sensori-Motor Stage; Pre-Operational Stage; Concrete Operational Stage and Formal Operational Stage. During the Sensori-Motor stage, the child learns about self and his/her immediate environment through reflex and motor actions. That is, the child learns to differentiate self from other objects. The child recognizes that he/she is separate from the environment and those aspects of the immediate environmental such as toys can exist even though they may be out of his/her senses.

During the preoperational stage, the child learns the use of language and the subtle representations of objects by images and words. Moreover, the child has difficulties in accepting the views of others. For example, a child can group together all the red toys irrespective of their shape or all the triangle blocks without considering their colors. During the concrete operational stage, the child can think logically about events and objects. Further, the child develops the ability to engage in abstract thoughts and make very rational judgments about observable or concrete phenomena.

For example, the child can classify objects along a single dimension such as size and shape. During the formal operational stage, the child develops the ability to think logically about abstract propositions and test hypotheses systematically. Moreover, the child no longer relies on concrete objects to make rational judgments (Satterly, 1987). I agree with Piagets theory because children grow in stages and in all the stages their reasoning skills are improved.